When used within a structure such as an office building, modern cell phones and portable radios used by the public and by emergency first responders, i.e. police, fire, EMS, etc., have difficulty maintaining communications with base stations and other radios inside and outside of the building. The reason for poor communications in these structures is because they are customarily built with steel frames or reinforced concrete, which impedes the transmission of radio signals into or out of the structure. Poor cell phone performance is a typical complaint. Even more serious, when responding to an emergency in such a structure, this limitation on radio signal transmission has the potential to place the first responders and the occupants of the structure in great jeopardy.
The deployment of a system of radio repeaters connected by communications paths within the structure provides the solution to the problem of maintaining radio communications within structures that impede these signals. The repeaters support 2-way radio communication within a structure and between users inside the structure and users and networks outside of the structure.
In Building Communications (IBC) can be achieved by converting and coupling/decoupling the standard transmit and receive free space radio signals from radio users within the structure (occupants, first responders, etc.) to communication paths within the structure for distribution throughout the structure. As used in this document, communication path (“Comm Paths”) can include any structure wiring (power mains, telephone wiring, network wiring, alarm wiring, fiber optics, or the like) and/or structural building elements (structural steel, plumbing, standpipes, elevator components, and the like) that support coupling and decoupling of communications signals to a Comm. Paths. As used herein, communication signals include, but are not limited to, radio frequency, acoustic, light, magnetic, or similar signals capable of being converted into intelligible signals. Comm. Path Signals are any communication signals traveling over a Comm. Path. One or more repeaters on the outside of the structure connected to one or more Comm. Paths are used to convert and couple/decouple radio transmissions between radio users inside the structure and radio users and networks outside the structure. An exemplary implementation of IBC would be a Broadband Over Powerlines (BPL) transmission (Comm. Path Signal) over power mains wiring (Comm. Path) in a structure.